


The Hallows

by AsheBlender



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:54:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25768507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsheBlender/pseuds/AsheBlender
Summary: On a mission to a mining town coincidentally located next to a fabled, supposedly haunted forest, Weiss decides Penny is a rival to Ruby's heart. Naturally, she challenges her for it. There is only room in Ruby's heart and her own for one... right?Meanwhile, Blake and Yang have taken a new step in their relationship. And, it's really making it hard to focus on the mission at hand.(Penny/Weiss/Ruby endgame!)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

“I, for one, think this shall be an incredibly successful mission!” Penny chirps as she looks around the bullhead with a smile. She could probably be flying right now, but she’d forgone that to just sit and watch her partners for this mission. Team RWBY sits around in varying states of getting ready for their mission, mostly refilling ammunition or loosening themselves up. Ruby is listening to some sort of rock song in her headphones that Penny could probably tune into if she liked. Her immediate thoughts of Ruby are still… confusing. She missed her friend dearly. But, there was also a hint of something else. Something that made every one her systems jolt and hiccup like no one else could. It had only gotten stronger, the longer she had spent with her. Something like friendship, but… decidedly more. Her more expressive form had lead to many an instance where Ruby would look curiously at her and ask her if she was okay. Penny wasn’t ever sure what to answer.

Deciding not to dwell on that fact for now, she continues her observation of the team. All are dressed in warm clothing for the snow. Yang has a fluffy fur on the hood of her coat. Blake has a snug, comfy hat with slots to protect her furry ears from the incoming cold. Even Weiss, who usually wears a dress, has thick leggings on underneath it. It only makes sense. The surrounding areas of Atlas could be incredibly inhospitable if one wasn’t dressed properly. A wasteland of snowy forests and icy caves.

It makes Penny stand out a bit in her more normal dress and leggings. She even has a bit of skin showing, on her legs. But, she didn’t really need to worry about things like the cold, when she could regulate her internal body heat on her own. She can still register that things are cold or warm, but they don’t cause her discomfort. She wonders if that’s why Weiss keeps sending her odd, sidelong gazes. She’s not exactly sure why. She’s been doing that ever since Penny had found them again and introduced herself by tackling Ruby to the ground. Perhaps she was upset about that fact? Was it something else? She was trying to be better at conversation. Had she stumbled into some sort of faux pas while speaking to her? She’d feel awfully bad if she’d stepped on the native Atlesian’s toes.

Not that she hadn’t before in a more literal sense back in the days of Beacon. Maybe it was a grudge of revenge for her poor toes against Penny’s heavy feet.

Weiss actually is the one to speak up first, coincidentally. She’s still giving Penny that… strange look that the ginger bot can’t place. Perhaps she’ll ask after their mission. She would really like to know what the cause for it is and if she can help in any way. “So, Penny… would you please run through the mission again? Just so we’re clear on what’s going on. And, so _some_ people will pay attention this time.”

She casts an unimpressed glance over to Yang and Blake. Blake looks away with a flush, while Yang just rolls her eyes and leans back in her seat. Weiss elbows Ruby, as well, who jolts and takes off her headphones with a confused expression. The former heiress points to Penny. Ruby then grins and looks over to her. Weiss is giving her that look again.

Despite being incredibly confused, and a little tingly in her circuits from having Ruby’s undivided attention, she gives a nod. Her eyes light up green, a holographic display of a map appearing out in front of them. “A new dust mining town has been having trouble with Grimm attacks. This dust supply is incredibly important to Atlas’ continued war effort. However… When we were last contacted by the town, they had decided to completely close down the mine to focus more on defense. Since then, we have received no further communications.”

Weiss raises an eyebrow as she looks at a specific portion of the map. Her eyes squint. “They built a town near the Hollows?”

Ruby cocks her head. “The Hollows?”

“It’s an old forest that’s been around far longer than any person has been settled here in Atlas. Atlesians have referred to it as “The Hollows’, as the wind seems to blow through the forest as if it were completely empty. Supposedly, it’s haunted with the souls of early Atlesian settlers who got left behind in the trek toward the founding of Mantle. ‘The wind howls with their lament, lashing out at any who trespass their final resting place. Those that step into the cursed Hallows, do so with the intent of never coming back out’.” She says with a nod. When she looks around and sees the rest staring at her, she flushes. “My, er… grandfather told me stories about it when I was very young. He always said that the SDC would never build another mine there while he was alive. He was a very superstitious man.”

Penny notes that Weiss looks a little upset by this. She continues. “That is accurate, but superstitious, information that has, thus far, been unproven scientifically-”

“So, old, haunted forest near a mining town. And, Grimm. Greeeeat.” Yang says with a snort. There’s a click as she hooks her metallic arm to her body, then a whirring as she rolls her wrist and elbow. “I’m loving the sound of this, already.”

Blake is giving the blonde a small, fond smile. It’s very quick. So quick that you might have missed it if you weren’t looking right at her. The faunus looks to Penny, herself. “What’s our first objective?”

“Our first objective is to first lock down the town and subdue any Grimm that are attacking it, if any. Then, when that is completed, we are to report to the town’s leader for further instruction. The mission is, basically, whatever we can do to get them running the mine again. Presumably, that would mean eliminating a Grimm nest or two. But, it’s really more up to the town leader what we end up doing.”

Weiss’ eyes narrow a touch. “That’s a bit vague, isn’t it?”

Penny shrugs. “Those are the orders given to me by General Ironwood. I did try and see if we could learn more specifically what we will be doing, but I didn’t receive any further instruction. So, I am only left with presumptions and theories, based on the problem.” Penny says with a little sigh. “Sometimes, that is all you can do. I am sure that with the five of us, we can handle this.”

Ruby smiles a bit and gives a small fist pump. “Yeah! We totally got this. Between us and you, we’re gonna kick these Grimm butts right back to where they came from!” She says, throwing an arm around Weiss and hugging her a bit closer. “Right, partner?”

Penny finds herself watching the two girls. The way Weiss’ cheeks just subtly fill with color. It’s pretty easy to see with her usual, pale skin. Weiss just rolls her eyes in response to Ruby’s closeness, though there’s the most subtle curl to the end of her lips. Penny suddenly finds an arm around her shoulder as well, Ruby’s silver eyes meeting glowing green. “Riiiiiiiight, Penny?”

Penny’s mouth opens, but no real sound seems to be coming out. At first, she thinks that something’s wrong with her audio systems. Perhaps her core is malfunctioning. Maybe there’s a glitch happening. Running internal diagnostics doesn’t show any issues coming up. It takes her a moment to realize that she finds Ruby’s eyes so pretty from this close that her speech refuses to come out on a more personal level instead of a technical one. She stares at Ruby for what feels like an eternity, then blinks her eyes as if coming out of a fog. “I… Yes. Indeed!”

Weiss is giving her that strange look again. Something’s swirling around in the pretty blue of her eyes. Something that, while not malicious, isn’t very friendly either. All she knows is that, whatever is clearly bothering Weiss, it’s going to be trouble. Penny attempts a smile at the other girl past Ruby. She hopes that would show they were on the same team and she would very much like to work with her. That just seems to make Weiss bristle even more, ponytail whipping as she turns her head away from them both.

That makes Penny frown, which draws Ruby’s attention back to her partner. “You okay, Weiss?”

“Peachy.” She says through grit teeth.

* * *

Weiss really isn’t sure how much more of this she can take. She’s come into her feelings very slowly. That’s the way she always approaches relationships with people. Slowly. Cautiously. She doesn’t want to be hurt again. Not when so many people in her life have already let her down or judged her solely based on her father’s actions. In Beacon, Ruby had been a pest at the least and an obstacle at the worst. That was simply how she saw it. Someone getting in the way of her only way out of her family life. Despite seeing Weiss at her bitchiest, Ruby had never given up trying to befriend her. She had cracked open that protective layer she sealed around her heart. A shell built to withstand a childhood of pressure and abuse. They had become the greatest of friends. The sort of touchy sort of friends that Weiss never thought she would ever have. Granted, she had been friends with her whole team to an incredible degree. Hugging Yang tightly in that bandit camp showed just how much she cared for the people in her life.

But, Ruby was different. And, it had taken the separation for her to realize that her feelings for Ruby were distinctly not platonic. Somehow… she had fallen completely for her partner and team leader. She doesn’t know exactly when she realized this, but she _does_ know that it was somewhere around the time they had all reunited. Just watching Ruby’s joy at seeing everyone together again had made her heart thump hard at her chest.

She’d always planned to tell her. But, there never seemed like enough time. Never a proper way to say it. They were on the run. They were in a fight. They were trying to escape a farm that, literally, had creatures that sucked the will to fight out of you. And, then they were in Mantle.

And, then… Penny had appeared once again.

Don’t get her wrong. It was wonderful to see Penny alive and decidedly not in pieces anymore. What had happened that day was tragic. And, it was a tremendous weight off everyone’s shoulders that one less friend had met their end that day. But, she still couldn’t help that flare of jealousy that had coiled in her heart when Penny had all but tackled Ruby into the ground. Penny was happy, Ruby was happy, everyone was happy. Happy, happy, happy. And, Weiss was happy, too. No, really. She definitely was.

Even though Penny had started stealing away more and more of Ruby’s time. Which was fair. They hadn’t seen each other in years. Ruby thought Penny was dead. Penny was very happy to see her. They babbled about things and held each other’s hands. It was all very, very sweet, assuredly. She shouldn’t be jealous of such a pure thing, right? Well, it turns out, that she couldn’t really help it. Especially when it became clear that Penny… Well, she obviously had feelings for Ruby. All she had to do was look at the way Penny seemed to sputter when Ruby shot her with a particular grin (and to be fair, Weiss could see why, it was gorgeous) to know it. And, that made Penny competition for Ruby’s heart. And, Weiss Schnee was nothing, if not incredibly competitive.

However, it’s very irritating to be in competition with Penny. She was the sweetest girl Weiss knew. Earnest to a fault, excitable, and always ready to help. She always treated Weiss kindly. It was nearly impossible to hate her. She was also… exceptionally beautiful. Her previously short hair, which had been cute as well, was now long curls of shimmery ginger with a cute bow atop her head. Her eyes glowed with a sharp green that could range from intimidating to soft and safe. And, Weiss really couldn’t understate how much the freckles all over Penny’s cheeks and skin just… enhanced her looks so much more completely. She was attractive as all hell. Weiss could see why Ruby would have the hots for her.

She could also fucking fly and lift a damn truck without breaking a sweat, so that’s already several points against Weiss. Weiss is fit, but not truck-lifting fit. Did she mention Penny can shoot lasers out of her fucking eyes? Hell, she was pretty much a living weapon with a hot girl body. That was nearly enough to make Weiss burst from envy and a slight attraction of her own.

It was a little hard not to feel inadequate.

So, when Penny sends her that smile after basically overloading at how hot Ruby was, Weiss takes it as a challenge. A ‘Ruby’s looking at me, not you’ challenge. Well, if the android girl wanted to be all smug about it, it was time to step up the pace. To challenge Penny directly. She may not be able to lift trucks, but she had her own strengths she could fall back on. The fact that this is a mission near the Hollows should probably concern her more, but she’s more or less powerless against being an idiot teenager in love.

Ruby gives her a slight look of concern as she grinds out a response to her question. But, before she could ask after it, the pilot informs them that they’re going to be heading to a ‘hot LZ’. To which Yang proudly responds that _she’s_ a hot LZ, like a complete dumbass. It’s a bit hard to remember Yang and Blake are here, sometimes, with her own focus so narrowed on Penny and Ruby.

Sure enough, when Yang stands up and casts the bullhead’s door open, they can see Grimm rushing the clearing between the Hollows and the mining town. The wind whips through all their hair, icy cold and unforgiving. The blonde’s hair starts to glow a bit as she pounds her fists together. “Alright! Let’s get down there! We got a town to save.” She growls out excitedly before she leaps right out of the transport.

Blake follows behind her with a sly smile, One thing she can be glad for is that they’ve seemed like they’re getting along again. Especially if their excursions to clubs with team FNKI are anything to go by. Ruby is the last before them to jump out, giving them both pats on the back before streaming into a cloud of petals as she jumps out. Weiss stares forward as she hears Penny’s boosters start to kick in on her feet.

Her eyes narrow. “Whoever kills the most Grimm gets to hold her hand.”

She can feel Penny’s eyes on her. See her cock her head out of the corner of her eyes. “What?”

She draws Myrtenaster up as she prepares for the coming battle. She looks up to her much taller rival out of respect for her. Right in the eyes. Narrowed blue on widened green. Respectfully, she wasn’t going to be losing this competition. She refuses to lose to Penny, no matter how much she respects her _or_ how hot she is. “The woman who kills the most Grimm gets to hold Ruby’s hand on the way into the town.”


	2. Chapter 2

Penny watches with ever-widening eyes as Weiss issues a challenge to her. She had no idea where this came from but, from the look on Weiss’ face, she was taking this completely serious. And, the prize for said competition was… holding Ruby’s hand? The android wouldn’t lie and say holding Ruby’s hand wouldn’t be very nice. Ruby had very lovely hands that made her feel all sorts of things when they grabbed onto hers. Did that mean Weiss wanted to hold her hand, too? “But, why-”

“Winner takes all.” Weiss answers simply.

So, she wanted to hold Ruby’s hand… and for Penny not to hold it. The girl finds a small bit of annoyance in that. No. She liked holding Ruby’s hand. And, she was not going to let Weiss take something from her. Even if she, otherwise, found the girl very nice. She was strong and beautiful. She had a deep desire to protect her friends that Penny couldn’t help but admire. She had wanted to be friends with her. To get to know her better. But, not at the expense of Ruby’s friendship. She had already been forced out of Ruby’s life by her untimely death. She refuses to let it happen again. The robotic girl turns to fully face the shorter girl. Her eyes glow green down onto the other woman’s pale features. “...Very well, Weiss Schnee. I will accept those terms.”

Weiss smirks a bit, finger gliding up her blade. “May the best woman win.”

“I intend to.”

With that, the bullhead fills with a light, shrill noise before Penny rockets out of the door and into the air. She doesn’t look back at Weiss as she soars through the sky. The moment an unfortunate Manticore flies into her vision, her eyes glow an intense green and a beam of energy shoots right through it’s back.

* * *

Yang’s glad to finally be out of the bullhead. Her legs had kind of been getting stiff in there and the need to get up and start stretching her legs had been getting stronger and stronger. There had also been the added complication of having to sit near Blake. That wasn’t a bad thing. Not at all. It was a great thing. Fantastic thing. The fact that they could actually do that without looking at each other uncomfortably now was a huge step from where they’d been a month or so ago. Blake didn’t look at her with as much guilt anymore. And, Yang had accepted Blake on her word that she was here to stay. That she wanted to be here. They’d both tried. They’d both put the effort in to reconnect their broken relationship and it was paying off.

Which brings her back to why it was so complicated sitting next to Blake. In short… Yang wanted nothing more than to pin her partner up against the wall of the bullhead and kiss the hell out of her. And, she knew Blake was feeling much the same. The blonde could tell from the twitchy energy the faunus had all morning that she was forcing herself to remain calm. They’d both been so focused on each other that they’d even missed the shorter briefing Penny had given them when they got onto the transport.

Her eyes kept slipping to Blake’s lips. Of what they felt like last night against her own. Blake had pushed her up against the wall of the club they were in. Her lips tasted of sweet drinks and dark lipstick and _Blake…_ She could almost still feel the beat of the music pulsing through her soul. Feel Blake’s breath against her lips. See the darkness only illuminated by flashes of colored lights. Golden eyes blown wide open and looking at her with such an intensity, she almost couldn’t hold the gaze. Her own eyes had definitely been a blazing red, hair starting to glow around her as they kissed like it was their last day on Remnant. Neither of them could explain how it started.

But, everything had changed since then.

What was between them went unspoken for now. Even if they both knew what it was, they hadn’t had time to talk about it. It was waking up this morning with hangovers and immediately off to this mission. And, she _wanted_ to talk about it. Wanted to confirm what she thought they were both feeling right now. Could you really blame her that she had been distracted all day? So, to say that she needed a little release had to be the understatement of the century. And, these Grimm were just the sort of thing she needed to get this surplus of energy out of her body.

She starts by throwing herself out of the transport and landing a killer axe handle on a Beowolf on the ground. Using the momentum she hits the Grimm with and her gauntlets, she blasts off it with a loud whoop and sends her metallic fist through another Beowolf’s head.

She glances up just in time to see her partner land into a roll after a clone helps her slow her descent. She slashes through a Sabyr seamlessly through her roll, Yang biting her lip a bit as the golden strip on Gambol Shroud glints in the winter sunlight. She pulls her hand out of the Grimm corpse, her wrist rotating around a few times to clear the dusty remains from it. She grins. “Hey, cutie. Come here often?”

Golden eyes land right in her own and, _fuck_ , if that doesn’t stir up her stomach in the best possible way. Blake smirks a little bit. “No. Can’t say I’d like a return visit, either.”

“What? Don’t like the Grimm surging from the spooky forest?”

“No.”

“Mhm... What about the company?”

Blake opens her mouth to reply when the sounds of Grimm howls break through their less-than-casual flirting. Yang looks up just in time to see Penny flying through the air and unleashing Floating Array from her backpack. The blades spin together to form something of a buzzsaw in the air that carves through several more Manticores flying around the sky. Her eyes sent a crackle of green energy down into the ground, completely obliterating a Beowolf’s head and sending a few others scattering. It almost looks like she’s gone into overdrive. The blonde whistles. “Huh. Penny seem a little intense to you?”

“Um...” Blake replies, tapping Yang’s shoulder and pointing.

When she looks over, she finds Weiss going after Grimm with a steely determination. Myrtenaster slices through Beowolf after Beowolf with jabs and clean, vicious cuts. Arma Gigas is already out and fighting, launched up into the air by a glyph and cleaving a Sabyr clean in half as it lands. Dust powers some of her attacks, a particularly well-placed blast of flame dust completely enveloping a group of about three more of the feline Grimm. She’s using glyphs to fly across the clearing and take out Grimm almost as fast as they can appear from the treeline. It’s like Weiss’ normal combat dialed up to eleven.

Even Ruby has found herself stopping to watch, looking between the two women as they completely annihilate the beasts. “Wow, um. What’s happening?” Her sister asks as her silvery eyes dart between rapier thrusts and spinning blades of death. No doubt, she thought this was as awesome as it was kinda worrying.

“Wish I could tell you, Rubes.”

So, the trio just stands there and watches as Penny and Weiss single-handedly send the Grimm packing. Soon, the clearing is completely devoid of the monsters. Yang had gotten so bored, at one point, that she’d leaned on her sister’s shorter head just to get a rise out of her. It’s something to _do,_ at least. This isn’t really helping the energy she had all built up in her body. But, she didn’t want to just charge in and get blasted with a stray laser either. Besides, these two… clearly kinda have it handled? When no more Grimm deem it necessary to come out of the forest, Penny drifts down to land in front of Weiss. Her arms are crossed. They discuss something. There’s some sort of… energy between them. A tension. Yang’s pretty surprised by that. She didn’t think Penny had a single confrontational bone in her body.

Did Penny… have bones? Huh.

Either way, Penny looks miffed by the end of the conversation and Weiss looks embarrassed. The android takes off into the air again, deactivating her boosters right next to Ruby and landing neatly in the snow. Her hand immediately slips right against Ruby’s, curling her fingers between the girl’s own. She looks down at the redhead with a kind, happy smile. That’s enough to get Ruby blushing. It’s… real cute. Yang looks back to Weiss, who’s still standing a distance away and staring off into space with a blush and a frustrated expression.

At the very least, she can say her focus is distinctly off Blake right now in lieu of wondering what the _hell_ that was all about.

* * *

Thirty-five to forty-seven.

Penny had pretty much destroyed her.

Penny looks down at her with a determined expression. It’s a bit odd to see Penny so competitive, but Weiss had asked for it. Or, demanded it, really. It’s only natural that she wouldn’t back down. Especially when it was Ruby on the line. She wouldn’t expect anything less from her rival for the redhead’s heart. “Now, you said I could hold Ruby’s hand, correct?” She asks carefully.

The way she’s looking down at Weiss is so intense that she can’t help but shiver a bit. With what, she’s not exactly sure. She finds that she’s panting a bit from the exertion of moving around so quickly. Penny isn’t panting at all. She looks otherwise unbothered, aside from the look on her face. Her heartbeat quickens at the realization that Penny hadn’t broken a single sweat in facing her. Not that she _could_ sweat. It was more just… she had effortlessly demolished Weiss. Just like in looks. Just like in personality. Just like in her place in Ruby’s heart.

In the few times she had looked up to see what Penny was doing, it had been incredible to see her in action. The way she sailed through the sky and demolished Manticores was incredibly impressive. The green light of the afterburners on her feet left a colorful trail behind her. It was almost artful, the way she fought. She was beautiful and powerful and so damn _strong_... How could she possibly have competed against that?

She puts away her blade with a sigh, feeling her cheeks heat up. “I am a woman of my word, Penny Polendina. This round is yours.”

Penny blinks a few times. “Round?”

Weiss crosses her arms over her chest. Her cheeks flush brighter. “If you think I’m going to just give up after one loss, you’re dead wrong. I… love Ruby. And, despite the fact that you are a lovely girl who deserves everything good thing the world can give you, you are… in my way.” She finally says, narrowing her icy eyes at the android girl.

“I know you love her, too. But, I won’t be able to live with myself, if I don’t try. If I just… let you continue like this. Even if it ends with my own heart broken, I will know that I _tried_. And, that you were the more worthy of her.” She continues, while Penny is just staring at her. It’s making her a bit uncomfortable. “If you win her heart, I will relent without complaint or ill will. I am a woman of honor.”

Penny blinks another few times. Her eyes seem to shine with a realization of something. Though, they’re soon narrowed at Weiss. “I do not know why we must fight. I would rather be friends. But, if you are trying to keep me away from Ruby, I...” The ginger girl frowns and closes her eyes, something that makes Weiss’ heart ache. It’s different from what she expects. Instead of an ‘I feel bad for doing this, she’s too nice’ sort of pang, it’s something undetermined. Something sharper. Something that catches her breath and stirs her stomach up uncomfortably.

“I will not allow that.” The girl’s eyes open again, fists curling up at her sides. She looks upset. Weiss doesn’t blame her. She’d never expected to be in this love triangle, herself. But, that’s how it had happened. And, this is the way it has to be. She’d rather know that she tried her hardest than just fade into the background and let it happen. Let Penny know her intentions openly.

She nods slowly in understanding. “I know.” She mumbles, her voice quiet. “If it… helps, I’m sorry it has to be this way. I really do like you, Penny. I mean that. I just… can’t go on like this. I have to know. Definitively.”

“I will not be bullied away from her. If this is what it takes to stay with Ruby… I will not back down. No matter who you are.” Penny replies in a low tone.

Weiss doesn’t have an answer for that.

She can feel the _whoosh_ of Penny’s rockets as she takes off and returns to the group. She just stays still for a while, fists clenching and unclenching as she looks out into the forest. She lets out a shaky, frustrated sigh. Why did it have to be like this? If only she hadn’t fallen for Ruby so deeply. She could just let Penny be with Ruby and they would be happy. They more than deserved each other. Instead… her own heart refused it. She sighs again, then slowly turns around to re-join the group. They still had a job to do. Even after all this.


End file.
